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Is this fungus? =(

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One of my baby pigs (MY FAVOURITE ONE AT THAT 8...) Has a wound of some sort on his face and I am hoping its just a bite or something but is it possible this could be fungus?

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clairelove said:
how long have you noticed this?did it just come up over night or has there been any thinning of the hair before in this area?
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It just appeared one day it wasn't gradual. Its been about 3 days and it hasn't really changed.
 
also I haven't noticed him scratching it and he is the only one of 4 with any problems. Can this just appear out of no where? What causes it?
 
Hard to tell for sure...having said that I'd be inclined to suspect injury as it appeared suddenly; the hair can be pulled out if another pig bites or if the pig scratches, for example, which would lead to the hair loss around the actual wound.

Does he live with other piggies?

A fungal infection would take time to develop, and it would spread.
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Hard to tell for sure...having said that I'd be inclined to suspect injury as it appeared suddenly; the hair can be pulled out if another pig bites or if the pig scratches, for example, which would lead to the hair loss around the actual wound.

Does he live with other piggies?

A fungal infection would take time to develop, and it would spread.
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He lives with his 3 Litter mates and none of them have any problems, and it just appeared one day it wasn't gradual.
 
Sounds like one of them might have told him off for some reason. Is the skin flaky or crusty, where the hair is missing?
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Sounds like one of them might have told him off for some reason. Is the skin flaky or crusty, where the hair is missing?
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A little bit thats whats worrying me =( But its swollen too, and from the pics I have seen fugal infections don't really look swollen
 
Ringworm can be sudden - one day two years ago my baby guinea of 9 weeks was fine - the next the skin had sloughed off his nose leaving a red open wound which was what first alerted me. A skin scraping confirmed the diagnosis. He was with several others and none of them had/developed any symptoms....but my vet dosed them all with oral griseofulvin to make sure.

Having said that, an older guinea developed it this year and it was obvious as a white furry crust.....and therefore treated topically (successfully) with Surolan before the skin sloughed off.

HTH

x
 
Pebble said:
Ringworm can be sudden - one day two years ago my baby guinea of 9 weeks was fine - the next the skin had sloughed off his nose leaving a red open wound which was what first alerted me. A skin scraping confirmed the diagnosis. He was with several others and none of them had/developed any symptoms....but my vet dosed them all with oral griseofulvin to make sure.

Having said that, an older guinea developed it this year and it was obvious as a white furry crust.....and therefore treated topically (successfully) with Surolan before the skin sloughed off.

HTH

x
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Can ringworm just occur? Doesn't it have to come from somewhere?
 
hmm I wonder if its an abscess it seems to be draining now. Can fungus just appear from nowhere? Doesn't it have to be introduced somehow?
 
Abscesses are often 'caused' by injuries.

Fungal infections can be carried on hay and food, and some fungal spores can live in wood for a long time. Ensuring the hay is good quality and making sure the dry feed containers and food bowls are cleaned regularly can help prevent both topical and oral fungal contamination.
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Abscesses are often 'caused' by injuries.

Fungal infections can be carried on hay and food, and some fungal spores can live in wood for a long time. Ensuring the hay is good quality and making sure the dry feed containers and food bowls are cleaned regularly can help prevent both topical and oral fungal contamination.
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Our hay is Oxbow, so are the pellets, shouldn't these be safe? =(
 
There's no 100% guarantee of hay being parasite/fungus free, but Oxbow is excellent quality so it's "unlikely" to have brought an fungal infection to your guinea. The pellets should be safe provided they're stored correctly i.e. dark, cool place, and in a clean container.
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
There's no 100% guarantee of hay being parasite/fungus free, but Oxbow is excellent quality so it's "unlikely" to have brought an fungal infection to your guinea. The pellets should be safe provided they're stored correctly i.e. dark, cool place, and in a clean container.
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This is good to know. Is fungus always white and flaky like the pictures I have seen? Because his wound or w.e it is is kinda flaky but its not like dry skin its like scabby.
 
Ack I think he is gonna have to go to the vet it looks way worse when I checked it just now, its all ripped open on his eyelid and at the corner of his eye =(
 
Fungal infections can be characterised by white and flaky skin, or quite hard crusty skin in more severe cases. The skin may appear a little inflamed (pinker than usual in light-skinned guineas), and the hair may slide out easily with a small clump of hair attached to a flake of skin.

Aloe Vera gel/ointment may help, I believe it has mild anti-fungal properties and will be safe to use on the face, so close to the eye. It can help if it's an injury too, soothe any itching while it heals.

Just found your above post - could he have made it worse by scratching? That may explain why it's developed as it has. He may have scratched whether it's fungal or injury.
 
I think perhaps it would be best to take him to the vet but I can't get there till friday at the earliest! hopefully it will be looking better before then and we won't have to take him. If it does turn out to be fungus should I ask the vet for treatment for my 13 other guinea pigs? or not worry about it unless they show signs. It does look as though he was scratching it. I tried to take some pictures but its just not as clear as seeing it for yourself. He is still lively and eating lots so hopefully he will be ok till then 8...
 
It's a good idea to make an appointment and get him checked out. At the moment, I wouldn't worry about your other 13 unless they show signs, or at the very least not worry about it until a fungal infection is confirmed.

One of my sows got quite a deep wound to the skin at the corner of her eye,...the result of an introduction gone very wrong! Injuries around the eye can look quite nasty.

As an aside, and totally off topic, good to see someone else with 14 piggies. :)
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
It's a good idea to make an appointment and get him checked out. At the moment, I wouldn't worry about your other 13 unless they show signs, or at the very least not worry about it until a fungal infection is confirmed.

One of my sows got quite a deep wound to the skin at the corner of her eye,...the result of an introduction gone very wrong! Injuries around the eye can look quite nasty.

As an aside, and totally off topic, good to see someone else with 14 piggies. :)
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It was an accident to have so many piggies :(|)

Its kinda funny how it ended up like this. I started out with Mocha but she seemed unhappy so I got moo to keep her company. Then Mocha had 2 babies (Teddy and Cinnamon) and when it was time to separate Teddy from Moo, Mocha and Cinnamon (because he is a boy) I got Eddy to be his companion but the pet store mis-sexed ed as a boy when it was actually a girl, so when I figured that out I moved her with the other girls.

Then a few days later moo had 2 babies Carrot and Pancake, so now carrot lives with Teddy.

Then when it was near christmas we went to the pet store and abby was there and obviously VERY pregnant so we got her just cause we felt bad that the poor baby was there and pregnant and on top of all that she was skinny =( Then about a month later abby gave birth to the 5 babies. They were all very small so I helped abby out by feeding them bread soaked in goats milk.

I got skunk just the other day cause we were buying hay and we saw her and I couldn't resist her cuteness.

Though soon it will be 13 as my bosses daughter wanted a guinea and she fell in love with Carrot so I am giving him to a new home I'll miss him =( Hopefully this sick baby can go live with teddy soon =(( at least I can go see him whenever I want to ;D
 
He is looking much better today! I am thinking it must have just been a wound but I will continue to keep an eye on his eye
 
Good to hear it seems to be improving, I hope it continues to heal well.
 
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